


Virmire

by sddeer



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Character Death, Gen, Virmire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-08
Updated: 2012-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-20 15:12:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sddeer/pseuds/sddeer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashley knows there's no going back once she cuts the comm line at Virmire. She sacrifices herself to save the others. And what is death but a homecoming?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Virmire

“I think we both know that’s not going to happen, Commander.”

Ashley cut the line. Shepard had made the choice—the right choice, she had insisted when Kaidan started arguing—and there was no going back. He was her superior, anyway, plus—

Enough. She had to do this. She had to save the universe. For Mom, for Dad, for her sisters… for Sarah. Especially for Sarah.

She shouted out orders to the Salarian team from behind the rocks that were protecting them from fire. The geth were swarming them, and she heard chatter suggesting yet another Salarian in a different team had fallen. If she was going to die—and she was going to die—she would take out as many of these robotic sons-of-bitches as she could.

“God help me, I’m going to shut you bastards down,” she muttered.

She darted out from her hiding spot and charged, assault rifle in hand and pumping out rounds into every geth she saw. Draw their fire. Give the Salarians a chance to locate the targets, to move, to find cover. Kill them. She was so focused on her last run, she didn’t notice a beam of light and heat and fuel streaking at her from the side. Or if she did, it wasn’t important, not anymore.

Somehow, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks was loud. Too loud. So loud, in fact, that she could no longer hear the gunfire or the artificial grumblings of the geth or even the chatter over her headset. Instinct told her that the Salarians were still yelling out orders, but that might just be the adrenaline. But other than the waves, there was silence. Maybe they had won. But they couldn’t have won. They were just—

_Oh._

So this is what it was like. She hadn’t realised she wasn’t moving anymore. What was it that had done it? Ashley hadn’t seen the Normandy pass over their heads yet. In fact, she hadn’t even noticed that she couldn’t see anything anymore. 

The sound of waves faded away.

———————————————————————

“…sorry to report we lost Chief Williams, Commander,” Captain Kirrahe said quietly.

Shepard was sitting down, head in hands, and didn’t bother to look up. “How.”

“From what I understand, she stormed the geth to draw their fire away from the others. She gave my men the opportunity to identify and take out most of their targets before being hit by a rocket,” he reported. “She is the reason any of us survives. Ashley Williams is a hero and will be remembered as such.”

“I told her, ‘No heroics!’” growled Shepard. “I told her! I—thank you, Captain.” 

“I’ll see myself out,” Kirrahe said before slipping away.

Kaidan stood there, watching Shepard struggle with the news. After a moment, he began, “Commander, I—” but cut himself off when he saw Shepard slip into a façade of reserved calm, sitting up, shoulders straight, face hardened against any emotion other than anger.

“Alenko, call the others in for debriefing. Ten minutes.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Joker?” Shepard stood.

“Yeah?”

“Patch me through to Sirona.” The Commander’s voice wavered only once, then held firm. “I need to speak with the Williams family and inform them that Ashley was killed in the line of duty and will not be coming home.”

“Oh… yeah. Right away.”

Shepard remembered that Captain Anderson had to do this after they had lost Jenkins on Eden Prime. Then they met Ashley. Now Ashley was gone, too.

After a few minutes, her mother was on the screen, bravely fighting back tears. So this is what it was like. Akuze, Eden Prime, Virmire, and this was the first time Shepard had to look a parent in the eye and deliver the news.

———————————————————————

Ashley took a deep breath and smiled when the scent of autumn hit her. Well, it mostly just smelled like burning leaves, even though the farmers were told time and again not to burn leaves. But it was a pleasant smell nonetheless, and one that she had missed terrible. She once joked in a message to her sisters that “space smells bad.” It really did, too.

Leaning over, she picked up her military-issue duffel and slung it over her shoulder. Sirona was pretty nice as far as colonies went, but its transportation system once outside of the city left something to be desired. Her family’s house wasn’t too far from the nearest bus stop, though, and the walk would feel like nothing compared to some of her more recent stints on other planets.

Ambling down the dirt road that they kept promising to pave but never did, Ashley felt her pace quicken as her childhood home came into view between the golden-brown leaves of the trees that lined the property. It looked bigger, better somehow, like it was a combination of how she remembered it and also everything she dreamed it would be. The only explanation was that it had been so long since she had been on leave, she had forgotten how wonderful it was to come home.

What day was it, Thursday? Her mother would probably be in the city, haggling with the hat lady at the market; Sarah in school; and who knew if Abby and Lynn would be around? It was always a mystery with those two. Oh well, she had a spare key and could always let herself in if need be.

She approached the fence and set her bag down to unlatch the gate just as the dark red front door opened and her father stepped out of the house. He looked mystified. “Ashley? Ashley!” He hurried down the three front steps and ran out to meet her. She closed the gate and saluted.

“Hi, Daddy,” she smiled, noticing with some confusion that he looked both relieved to see her and also incalculably sad. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Are Mom and the girls home yet?”

“No,” he replied slowly. “No, not yet. They’ll be here when they’re done with whatever they’re up to. I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, either.” He bent to pick up her duffel, but she shooed him away with both hands.

“I’ll get it. I’m not tired at all,” Ashley assured him before hefting it over her shoulder once more and walking to the front porch. Her father followed her halfway, stopping at the mailbox to lean on it. “Are you coming back inside?”

“In a bit. I think I’ll wait for your mom to get home.” Suddenly, he smiled at her so widely, she thought she saw his eyes glimmer with tears. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie. You know that, don’t you?”

She beamed at him for a moment, then stepped to the door and put her fingers around the cool brass handle. Her heart swelled at that moment. Ashley closed her eyes and opened the door.

So this is what it was like to come home.


End file.
